Article Seven has tonight closed its mailing list for users of Vantage. Given the reported absence of communication between Cerilica and its customers, the mailing list was the one of the only ways in which fellow users could share their misfortunes with the vector graphics package."The list currently uses a majordomo installation on my web server. Each time I change server, I have to make arrangements for a fresh installation, which is a logistical and financial burden," explained Andrew Green of Article Seven. Andrew's willing to keep a copy of subscribed email addresses in case a new list appears.
He added: "Since I'm no longer involved in the RISC OS scene, and given the circumstances surrounding the product, it's a burden I'm reluctant to keep taking. My server has been experiencing major filesystem problems today, necessitating a hasty migration to a new machine. I don't want to complicate this by introducing majordomo into the mix."
Mike Morris, a list subscriber, this evening commented: "Well, I guess that's it then. For me the existence of the list symbolised some sort of hope for Vantage. It feels, in a sense, almost like the final nail in its coffin - though I do hope I'm wrong."
Vantage was initially launched in 1999, but wasn't considered stable until version 1.10, which was released in 2003. This year, users were finding Vantage increasingly difficult to use, were unable to contact Cerilica and were further hampered by the software's anti-piracy system.
Version 1.11 was released with the anti-piracy system removed but problems still infuriated many users, including the lack of a 32 bit compatible version. Simon Birtwistle, Vantage's author, once infamously told his users via the list that they would be better off using Artworks 2.
Update at 16:30 22/10/2004
Kris Adcock has set up a new mailing list, which users will have to re-subscribe to as Article Seven will be deleting their subscriber list soon to prevent accusations of nefarious activities with people's addresses.
To join the new list, send an email to geek [at] danceswithferrets [dot] org with the subject line "subscribe vantage".
Links
Cerilica website